Will Gareth Southgate turn to youth to fix England’s midfield problems?

There was a telling, almost existential comment from Adam Wharton, just 20 years old, with only 16 Premier League appearances and less than half an hour of international experience with England under his belt in a friendly against Bosnia and Herzegovina. “If I think I can’t handle this, then what am I doing here?” he asked of being at the European Championship.

And that is the crux of the matter. Gareth Southgate must now experiment to fix his experiment. The attempt to convert Trent Alexander-Arnold into a controlling central midfielder, in the real-time glare of a major finals, has not worked.

Southgate admitted as much in substituting him after just 54 minutes of the 1-1 draw against Denmark which has led to several pundits losing their s--- (to borrow Gary Lineker’s scatalogy in describing England’s performance) but was nevertheless hugely disappointing. And not good enough.

It is certainly not Alexander-Arnold’s fault. He has simply not played enough in that position. It is not just about having a wonderful passing range and he has not been helped by the overexposure.

And so, Southgate faces a checklist of choices: does he leave out Alexander-Arnold for England’s final group game against Slovenia? The probability is yes, he will. Does he then turn to Conor Gallagher, his other most experienced central midfielder? Unfortunately, he struggled against the Danes when he came on.

Does he move Jude Bellingham back? Possibly.

Or does he roll the dice – experimenting to overcome that experiment, as it were – by turning to 19-year-old Kobbie Mainoo or Wharton, who is just 14 months older but has even less experience, having joined Crystal Palace only in the January transfer window from Blackburn Rovers for £18 million before making such an extraordinary late run into the England squad?

To put their progress in context, the pair were together in an England Under-19 camp only last year and have naturally gravitated towards each other having been called into the senior set-up.

“I’ve spent the most time with Kobbie,” Wharton revealed. “Cole [Palmer] as well probably because they’re similar ages to me.” Now one of them might have to be England’s saviour.

The decision to leave out Jordan Henderson appeared sound on form and fitness – the 34-year-old was just not playing well enough after the unhappy failure of his controversial move to the Saudi Pro-League and his struggles with Ajax – but it has robbed England of a vastly experienced, calming figure. A second captain.

Maybe it would have been a tournament too far for Henderson but, right now, England appear to miss him and maybe, with that wonderful, unfair, perspective of hindsight it should have been him plus one of Mainoo or Wharton. Not both. After all, will either of those youngsters really play a substantial role in this tournament?

They will hopefully be vital to England’s future but while attempting to safeguard that maybe Southgate has lost sight, a little, of the need to concentrate on the here and now, especially as this might end up being his final tournament as manager. It cannot always be about potential.

Southgate came in for some brutal criticism for saying, post-Denmark, that England missed Kalvin Phillips, the Manchester City midfielder who has lost his way and who failed on loan at West Ham United. Except he did not say that. He said they lacked “a Kalvin Phillips” – that type of holding player, rather than that specific holding player. The “a” there is crucial.

There has also been the age-old debate, one that Southgate has embraced and expanded upon, of how England lack a Luka Modric or Toni Kroos or even a Jorginho-type midfielder. Or, to use the examples Wharton himself cited, a Rodri – his favourite - or N’Golo Kante. He watches both extremely closely.

“There are different ways of playing my position, depending on how the team want to play,” Wharton explained.

“If you’ve got a lot of the ball you need someone who is calm, composed and always willing to get on it.

“I don’t think there’s a set way of playing that position. It’s a difficult position, not easy, you’ve got to be good on the ball and also cover the spaces off the ball where the opposition are dangerous if they can get through the middle.”

He talks well. That is half the battle and it was again evident when he was asked about Southgate’s comment, pre-Euros, that England have been waiting for his style of player for several years.

“I don’t really look at it or think about it. I just play how I play and I know that if I do that then I can help the team get forward, move the ball down the pitch, beat the press, that kind of stuff,” he said. “I don’t necessarily look at myself being special or anything like that. It’s just the way I play.

“If I was to describe my game I would just say it’s pretty simple but effective. If you’ve got great players in attack, like Bellingham, Foden, then you have to get them in the pockets.

“All I want to do if you’ve got players like that is give them the ball because that’s when they come alive to produce bits of magic, create chances, score goals, things like that.”

Wharton claimed to be unconcerned about the attention.

“They probably know I’m not too fussed by it all,” he said – before adding: “I try to live a game in my head as much as with my feet, whether that is making a movement to move the opposition so someone else can get the ball or trying to think a couple of passes ahead, so when I do get the ball I already know where I am going to play. If people think that is special then maybe it is, but for me it is just normal.”

That is the essence of the role that England lack. Wharton talks a good game. The question is whether Southgate will now fully invest in him or Mainoo. Or neither.